Barbara's Book Corner.

In honor of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited coming out (heh) as a movie with Emma Thompson and other assorted people, here's my book review for it. I will be seeing it anon. I also saw some of the miniseries in the'90s when they re-ran it on A.& E. Broken up to show transitions as opposed to the free-floating prose I usually do.

Read it July 19, 2002.

--Found it at one of the book sales at Binghamton University Library. Pretty much liked it. Loved Sebastian and his response to Charles's love of the chapel: "Who cares who made it if it's pretty?" Also good was his bit with his injury. Loved their time in Venice and the halycon days of Oxford. Some of Charles's responses to his father were amusing and vice versa.
--I liked Julia. I was a bit annoyed with the fact she looks so much like Sebastian, so Charles's transferring his love for S. to J.And when he marries his wife, it's so unromantic and quick.
--Was sad when Sebastian leaves for Africa and the line "I'm the saddest person in Oxford as Sebastian's been sent down."Still wounds me.
--The prose is overwrought and I tend to agree with Jeff that Charles is a dry prick.
--Felt sorry for Julia in parts and sort of liked when Julia and Charles get together.
--Thought the end was anticlimactic with the father recanting and the whole debate whether he would or wouldn't was dull.
--Still, there were some good lines about how the house was formed and hwo lived there before. Passing on the traditions and such. Still, it was fun Edwardian stuff. And the bit at the end where Brideshead is now a haven for the soliders and the liight is a symbol of hope for them isn't too bad. I mostly liked the beginning.
--Seminal (no pun intended) piece of British Literature.
--Makes me want to sip scotch on the porch. Had to xerox some of the pages which was a bit annoying.